England dug deep to beat Norway 2-1 in their World Cup quarter-final on 11 July 2026, but manager Thomas Tuchel still left the stadium unhappy. ‘We made life very difficult for ourselves,’ he admitted after the narrow victory. ‘The result is fantastic but I’m not happy with the performance.’

What did Tuchel see that disappointed him?

Tuchel praised the players’ fight and spirit, calling their effort ‘impressive’ and singling out their team belief in tough moments. Yet the German coach also made it clear he expects more from a side built to dominate possession and press aggressively. ‘We had a lot of momentum swings,’ he said. ‘Sloppy, a lot of technical mistakes, not fast enough, not repetitive enough.’

Against Norway, England attacked in a 3-2-5 shape while Solbakken’s side sat in a 4-5-1 block. Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson sat deep, but Nico O’Reilly pushed high to overload the flanks. Tuchel wanted longer spells of short passing to draw Norway out, then switch play to the far side. Early on, Anderson played long diagonals to Noni Madueke down the right, but the wingers failed to punish the openings. By the second half, England’s possession dropped from 68% to 44% and their rhythm vanished.

How Tuchel wants England to play

When Tuchel named his squad, he spelled out the roles: a fixed number 10, aggressive pressing, deliberate short passes to invite pressure, then quick switches to forwards in space. ‘Against defensive blocks, attack down the flanks,’ he told his players. ‘Use wide triangles and rotations to create chances.’ Against Ghana in the group stage, England followed his script—short, short, short—before a long switch over the top. Against Norway, those glimpses appeared only briefly.

What comes next for England?

England now face Argentina at home on 15 July 2026, fresh from five straight wins and unbeaten in their last five matches. Jordan Henderson remains sidelined, but the squad’s relentless energy keeps delivering results despite the coach’s technical frustrations.